Late architect Thierry Despont’s elegant Hamptons estate sells for $17.9M in an all-cash deal

The late architect and designer Thierry Despont’s Southampton estate has sold for $17.9 million, Gimme Shelter has learned exclusively. 

The buyer, we hear, is a hedge funder who lives in New York with his family. It was an all-cash deal. 

The 36-acre property, known as the Rosewood Farm Estate, first hit the market for $23.5 million in 2022 and went into contract last May. The spread, at 320 Majors Path, includes a six-bedroom main residence. It was built on the site of the original 1920s Southampton Riding and Hunt Club.

Despont, who hailed from France and was known for his elegant flair, made his name refurbishing the Statue of Liberty. He also restored the Carlyle Hotel and the Woolworth Building in New York, and the Ritz in Paris — while his private clients included Bill Gates and Calvin Klein. He passed away last year at the age 75 in this home. 

Building this Hamptons estate was a labor of love. Despont spent $8.55 million over two years — from 2011 to 2013 — to buy three separate parcels that look out onto a 50-acre agricultural reserve. 

The assemblage includes a main house, which was built from a converted barn. Every room overlooks a cobblestoned courtyard with a fountain. 

A tree-lined path leads to an infinity-edge pool and a pool house, which was created from a former barn.

That pool house now features a lounge, a gym and a sauna. A third barn once served as Despont’s art studio, as he was also a painter and sculptor. That barn is now a four-car garage.

There’s also a four-bedroom guesthouse. 

The landscaped grounds include mature specimen trees from Africa, and a meadow with a walking path and a gazebo. 

The listing brokers — Paul Brennan, Michaela Keszler and Martha Gundersen of Douglas Elliman — declined to comment.